Clams With Celery And Toasted Garlic Recipes

BAKED CLAMS WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook the clams: Heat a large skillet over high heat. Rinse the clams one final time to make sure they are free of any grit. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter to the skillet, add the clams and vermouth and cook, shaking the skillet slightly, until the clams open. Remove and cool. Reserve any cooking liquid.
• Make the breadcrumb mix: Place the remaining 10 tablespoons butter in the bowl of a food processor, add the garlic, scallions and lemon zest and juice and pulse to blend. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the breadcrumbs.
• Prepare and bake the clams: Detach each clam from its shell and put the meat back in the shell. Mix the reserved cooking liquid from the clams (if any) with the cream. Pour a touch of the cream mixture on top of each clam and immediately mold some of the breadcrumb mixture into each of the shells so the clam body is covered. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake until hot, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and preheat the broiler.
• Broil the clams for 1 minute, watching them constantly so they don't burn. Remove them from the oven. Squirt with lemon juice. Top each clam with some parsley. Serve immediately.

SCOTT URE'S CLAMS AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Wash clams to remove any dirt or sand.
• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; saute for 1 minute, or until tender. Pour in the white wine. Boil until wine has reduced to half its original volume.
• Add clams, cover, and steam till clams start to open. Add butter, cover, and cook till most or all of the clams open. Discard any that do not open. Transfer clams and juice to 2 large bowls. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

CLAMS IN GARLIC SAUCE

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add shallots, garlic, thyme, parsley and bay leaf. Saute until shallots are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add clams and wine, raise heat to high, and cover. Boil until all of the clams have opened, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer clams to a bowl, then cover.
• Add clam juice to the saucepan, and boil over high heat until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Remove and discard bay leaf, parsley and thyme sprigs. Transfer contents of pan to a blender, and add garlic confit and lemon juice. With blender running, add remaining 1/2 cup olive oil in a slow steady stream until sauce is smooth and emulsified. For extra garlic flavor, add some of the oil from garlic confit if desired.
• Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust thickness of sauce with more clam juice, if desired. Toss with linguine, and top with clams. Serve immediately.

CLAMS WITH CELERY AND TOASTED GARLIC

Steps:

• Preferably using a natural bristle kitchen scrubber (a brand new kitchen sponge will work as well), scrub the clams well under running water. After the clams have been scrubbed and scrubbed again, let them hang out in a large bowl of cold water. This will allow any residual sediment or grit to free itself from the shells and settle at the bottom of the bowl while you do everything else.
• Heat oil, butter and chorizo or other pork product, if using, in a large pot (make sure it has a lid) over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pot occasionally until the butter has started to brown a little and the fat has begun to render from the pork, 3 to 4 minutes. (The pork won't be crispy, but that's O.K.; you're not looking for that.)
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring a minute or two until it begins to take on a toasty, light golden-brown color. Add wine and cook, letting it simmer until it's a little more than halfway reduced, 2 to 3 minutes. Add celery and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the celery is bright green and just tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add clams and shake the pot so they settle nicely. Place the lid on the pot and give it the occasional shake, letting them steam open and release their juices, 3 to 5 minutes. (Larger clams will take longer.) The shaking of the pot is not only fun to do, but it gives all the clams quality time with the hottest part of the pot, which will encourage them to open around the same time, although there's always one or two clams late to the party. If there's one that just never makes it to the party (as in, it never opens), it's dead and should be thrown away.
• Toss the parsley, chives and celery leaves in a small bowl, then add lemon or lime zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve the clams with a hunk of crusty fresh bread or thick slices of toast that have been drizzled with lots of olive oil and rubbed with a cut clove of garlic, scattering the parsley mixture over everything.